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Celebrating Jain Society of Houston Pratishtha Mahotsav 1995
JAIN LIFE IN THE WESTERN WORLD By Snehal Shingavi (1st place Essay 16-22 Yrs.)
A fish cannot survive very long outside of water, and similarly a Jain cannot be religious outside of his or her homeland. This misconception is primarily what prevented the emigration of many of the brightest and more talented, as well as more religious. professionals from India. Now, however, that the influx of Indians, and more importantly Jains, into America has reached a critical mass, it becomes very important to consider, carefully, the ramification on religious growth. The new age has opened the minds of many western religious. Focusing on positive aspects of these religious, western toleration and acceptance also provides an environment conductive to the growth of Jainism within the confines of a predominantly non-Jain community. But, then it becomes very important to consider how Jains can function in this world - away from India - during the transaction from Judo - Christian society. This is most easily understood by examining the three basic tenets of Jain belief: ahimsa (nonviolence), vegetarianism, and theory of karma.
"Ahimsa parmodharma": these words herald the most important facet of Jain dogma - that above all else, Jain respect all others as their equals. The majority of religious across the world have undergone their various religious crusades, but the majority of Jain perceive that their religion is free from the war fighting that plagues the rest. While this appears to be true prima facie, Jains are pressing a conquest of worse genocide - the murderous violence against brethren. Unable to resolve differences between fractions, Jains have fought amongst themselves for control over various shrines and holy temples.
The dilemma resurfaces here in America primarily because of the introduction of the immigrants. Taught from birth that one sect was right and the other ignorant and naive, the majority of Jain still harbor deep-rooted resentment. That, primarily, is a reason of the lack of cooperation between the various Jain communities.
Jains need to drop the labels that they have stigmatized each other with, and begin to realize that first and far most, that they are all Jains.
Even looking to modern day nationalistic conflicts between Serbians and Muslims, Armenians and Azerias, Israelis and Palestinians, one can see the outcome of prolonged ethnic rivalries. After all, how can we hope for the preservation of our religion if we continue to condemn it from the inside? Before Jains can hope to deal with the world outside the Jain realm, they must be sure that the Jain community is strong and stable. Without a stable foundation, even the most stable edifices crumble. We must start from the basics of our religion, and understand what it means to be a Jain person. Ahimsa becomes the easiest place to start that journey. When we control our emotions and our actions, not even the non-Jain community will be able to acquiesce us.
The second and perhaps the most discussed facet is maintaining a Jain diet. Vegetarianism is the easiest of Jainism to follow and renege upon.. The western society, although moving towards a vegetarian diet, in which we reside still provides many nonvegetarian options. But we must undertake every pain to make sure that we follow our specified dietary restrictions. The reasons are twofold:
First of all, vegetarianism is healthier and better for the body and mind. Removing many of the harmones and chemicals from our diet, vegetarianism provides our body the opportunity to cleanse itself.
The second reason is the fact that once we are able to control our most basic cravings, hunger, we can begin to sojourn down the path toward a higher discipline. Because Jainism is primarily founded on the regroups of discipline and the austerity of selfcontrol, Jains must be unswerving in their dedication to this aspect of Jainism.
Vegetarianism, however, is not a difficult way of life. Even special trends seem to pointing to it as the latest health fad. Therefore, we can not allow ourselves on opportunity to make excuses.
"Some people change jobs, change friends, and even change mates, but they never bother to change themselves"
(Lord Mahavir)
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